Jackson Lake - Grand Teton National Park Jackson, Wyoming

Jackson Lake

Grand Teton National Park

Jackson Lake, Wyoming

Jackson Lake in the Grand Teton mountains is one of the most beautiful and scenic places you will ever fish. Truthfully, the setting is absolutely breathtaking. The lake is touted as one of the largest high altitude lakes in the United States and when you see it for the first time it is truly a humbling experience. Only our heavenly father could have created something so incredibly beautiful. 

The lake was formed right at the base of the Grand Teton mountains as you can see from this photo. It's full of pike, cutthroat trout, brook and brown trout and of course salmon. The water is very deep some come prepared with an adequate fish finder. The lake is closed to fishing in August. Ice-fishing (not for me) is allowed during the winter months. I find the temperatures far too cold for my old bones. You may feel different. If so, wear warm cloths, as winters in the Tetons and in Yellowstone National park can produce some of the coldest temperatures you can possibly imagine. 

Happy Fishing!

We encourage you to share your photos, video and fishing stories with us and we will publish your fishing adventure articles on this blog. Send your information to Flyline@bellsouth.net.  

Lake Heron - Los Ojos, New Mexico

Lake Heron

Located near Los Ojos, New Mexico

If you are looking for a great place to fish for Salmon and huge Lake Trout, this is the place. Lake Heron is full of trophy fish. I have personally trolled this lake with a local lake guide and found it to be quite productive. Aside from the wonderful fishing, I found the surrounding landscape to be absolutely breathtaking. Wildlife abounds in this area. You will routinely see Elk, Deer, wild Turkey and occasionally black bears. The lake is part of the New Mexico State Park system. The boat ramps are great and their is plenty of areas to camp. If you are seeking hotel accomomdations, you will need to stay closer to the town of Chama.

I truly hope this information is helpful to you. Here is a web site link for the Lake Heron State Park that can also provide some additional information for you: (http://www.stateparks.com/heron_lake.html).

Good Luck and Happy Fishing!!

Two Generations Of Lein's Fishing The Chama River

Roy Lein and Mark Lein

Two generations of Lein's have fished the Chama River for more than 56 years.  Roy was actually stationed in northern New Mexico as an 18 year old Air Force private. He joined the Air Force straight out of high school in Bowling Green, Ohio. He was immediately sent off to boot camp, then on to radar control school. Once he completed his radar operations training, he was stationed on a very small radar station near Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico.

While taking a 12 mile run, Roy met rancher Bill Faris. Mr. Faris owned a ranch that had several miles of Chama River frontage. Bill taught Roy to fly fish. He allowed Roy to come to the ranch on his off days and practice his new skills. Roy eventually met Patricia Williams, from Dulce, New Mexico. They fell in love and were married. Roy left the military and accepted a position with Central Mutual Insurance company in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Roy and Pat bought a small home on Parsifal Street. Virtually ever weekend, the two traveled back up to the mountains to enjoy some fishing and camping. As their family grew, the fishing and camping continued to gain momentum. The two had a total of 4 kids, all of which were introduced to the Chama river and to the outdoor world. 

From Mark, Steve, Pam and David, thanks Mom and Dad! We have been greatly blessed by your love, your wonderful parenting, the advice you have shared and by the incredible gift of fishing and camping that you introduced us to at such a young age. We have all enjoyed the beauty of the New Mexico mountains for many years thanks to you. Love you guys!

The ranch that Bill Farris once owned is now owned by my good friend David Cooper. David's father, Carl and his wife Gladys bought the ranch more than 50 years. Carl still holds the New Mexico State fishing record for catching the third largest Brown Trout ever caught in the state. He caught that fish in the Chama river which flows for miles through the Coopers El Vado Ranch. The fish was caught in 1966, and Carl's record catch weighed in at a whopping 14 pounds and was 32.5 inches long. That is big folks! Carl and Gladys raised their entire family at the ranch. Heck, the Coopers helped raised half of our family too! Me included! David Cooper and I spent many a day at the ranch finding ways to drive our parents nuts. We floated logs down the river, we rode his horse through the river and out onto the island in the middle. Oh yeah, we weren't supposed to be there! The two of us were all over those mountains as kids. It's a wonder we survived to tell the stories. Truth be known, Coop and I had an absolute blast growing up. David is like a brother to me. In fact, my wife Jan and I were just up to Coopers El Vado Ranch in April of this year. It was awesome to see my friend and to spend time with he and his incredible family.

If you are seeking a special place to bring your family, Coopers El Vado Ranch is the place you have to try. It's a magical place with special New Mexico healing powers. If you have a chance, have a beer with my big brother David and tell him that I will be back to bug him again soon! Visit Coopers El Vado Ranch (http://www.elvado.com/). Tell D that Leiner sent you.

Hey, Outta Of My Favorite Fishing Hole!

Yellowstone National Park

Wyoming

Yeap there are some really big fish in these waters. The only problem is, there are some really big critters in this park that can chase you right out of your favorite fishing spot! Check out this wayward Buffalo who decided that he needed a drink more than I needed to catch that big ole brown trout who had been nibbling on my fly. Dang, critters!

Looking for a great place to stay while you are at Yellowstone? We suggest the Old Faithful Lodge. It's somewhat old, but, the history of the place and the incredible geyser basin area is enough to overcome sharing a bathroom with your hotel neighbors. You can even get cell signal and broadband connectivity in this part of the park, so great for a working vacation.

Yellowstone River

Yellowstone National Park - Yellowstone River

The Yellowstone River near Jackson, Wyoming is full of beautiful brown, cuttthroat and rainbow trout. Trust me when I tell you the bears haven't caught them all. There are some absolute whoppers in this river.

This photo was taken very near the upper falls. They don't allow fishing in this particular area due to the close proximity of the actual falls themselves. If you haven't seen the falls, check out the video we posted on our Youtube channel. It is absolutely incredible.

April On The Chama - Blue Sky or Snow

April On The Chama River

You honestly never know what type of weather you are going to get when you fish the Chama River in New Mexico in the month of April. River crossings this time or year can be extremely tricky.

Pictured is an early Spring snow storm. Not unusual for this part of the country. The elevation of this particular area is 6,800 feet. High enough that it is still Winter during April.

El Vado Lake Dam

Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico

Here is a unique view of El Vado Dam. It took some doing to climb down into the canyon and get this photo. Glad I could share it with our blog followers.

Normally in April the river flow is set to approximately 350 - 600 cubic feet per second. The Dam administrators had just blown the sirens as I arrived at my photo destination. They elevated the water while I was actually positioning for the photo. The water was running at approximately 750 cubic feet per second when I took the photo above. In April the state of New Mexico prepares for the Spring run off from the mountains. They normally lower the water level in the lake to ensure they have ample room to host the snow melt.  

A recent check of the New Mexico USGS Real-Time water flow data shows that the river is running at 621 cubic feet per second today (June 11, 2010). That is absolutely perfect for effective fishing. There are some whoppers in this river. Worth a trip at some point to try to hook up with them. If you do decide to make a trip out to New Mexico, call David Cooper. He owns Coopers El Vado Ranch and has been a family friend of mine since he and I were kids. His ranch is fantastic and offers beautiful, rustic cabins that are fully equipped to allow you to experience nature, while still enjoying a hot shower, your own kitchen facilities and more. David is a wonderful person and I promise you will fall in love with him, his family and his incredible ranch. Visit Coopers El Vado Ranch (http://www.elvado.com/). Tell David that Leiner says I love ya big brother! Might just get you a discount. Then again, he might think you are family and put you to work :-). Either way, there is no better place in the world to be and no better person than Coop Dog to share that place with.